CEP co-authors of a recent European Commission ‘REFIT’ study on the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive 2001/42/EU
The European Commission has recently published a report on the findings of a study to evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value of the SEA Directive. CEP was a partner in the evaluation (with Milieu Ltd) and led the development of report chapters on effectiveness and relevance as well as contributing to the rest of the report [1].
The ‘REFIT’ [2] report (published in June 2019) summarises the current implementation of the SEA Directive in EU countries and the outcomes from the analysis for each of the evaluation criteria. It also incorporates the outcomes of a stakeholder workshop to discuss the research findings.
The study found that the SEA Directive brings considerable benefits to the EU, contributing to wider goals on sustainable development and environmental protection through integration of environmental concerns into the appropriate plans and programmes. The study also identified some concerns around scope and efficiency, and a number of priority issues that should be considered for further action, including: the clarification of the scope of application of the Directive, a more strategic approach to scoping and the dissemination of good practices.
The report is available here.
For further information contact Dr Bill Sheate (Technical Director), Spela Kolaric (Senior Consultant) or Rolands Sadauskis (Senior Consultant).
[1] The authors of the report were: Jennifer McGuinn, Lise Oulès, Paola Banfi, Alicia McNeill, Sarah O’Brien, Zuzana Lukakova (Milieu); William Sheate, Spela Kolaric, Rolands Sadauskis (Collingwood Environmental Planning).
[2] A ‘REFIT’ study is an evaluation under the European Commission’s Regulatory Fitness Check and Performance programme, to ensure a Directive is ‘fit for purpose’ . It seeks to provide an evidence-based analysis as to whether EU actions are proportionate to their objectives and delivering as expected.